At Frame Lab, Hans Vermeulen speaks on the future of architecture and 3D-printing

February 11, 2018

Text Alex Servie

Amsterdam – Among the speakers at Frame Lab on 21 and 22 February is DUS Architects and Aectual founder Hans Vermeulen, who will explain his innovative business endeavours and how he is bridging the gap between what technology is capable of, and standard practices in architecture. Alongside exhibits showcasing the potential of 3D printing at the Lab, Vermeulen will address the topic, ‘Will we live in 3D-printed houses?’ We catch up with Vermeulen to bring you a glimpse of what his insightful talk will entail.

Why is Frame Lab relevant to you in light of the digital era saturated with free information?Hans Vermeulen: In the age of digitalization, face-to-face meetings like Frame Lab are becoming of greater importance. It’s in these events where direct interaction and sharing of ideas takes place between frontrunners of different design practices, decision makers from the industry, writers and thinkers. With direct interaction, we can together set the agenda for the upcoming years and construct new alliances and crossovers needed to formulate solutions for the important challenges of our time.

How does your work address the future?I think in the upcoming five years we will see the digitalization of making. That’s of course why we are focusing on digital fabrication of architecture by introducing robots and software tools to bring design to everyone. This will not only make it possible to offer good design to all, but also to rethink products as we know them, to make the production of goods and cities more sustainable and reach the 2030 goals of the Paris agreement.

How do your ideas for the future translate to reality?The 3D-printed floor for Schiphol [Amsterdam’s international airport] and the interior objects for LOFT’s flagship store in Ginza Tokyo demonstrate that our digital building products are ready for the market. Digital architectural products make it possible to re-create and customize solutions for every location worldwide. We see the Urban Cabin project as a good example of how beta-testing of design solutions can instigate debate and a solution-oriented mentality for the big challenges we have as a generation – in this case, to house the masses.

Your tech-oriented solutions to architecture sound almost utopic, do you see any downside or possibility of over-saturation of technology in the built environment?I think we should watch Google and other tech giants who start penetrating public space and the home [with technology] with the Nest thermostat for example or their ‘safety’ cameras. It’s about the data that is collected and how we can make sure we use it for building solutions for everyone and not only limit the access and knowledge for the happy few who own the platforms.

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Be there to hear Hans Vermeulen’s inspiring talk on 22 February by purchasing your Frame Lab ticket today.